Young Men Speak Out: London Kick-off

Young Men Speak Out is an Erasmus+ project that aims to encourage young men and boys to raise the topic of FGM in their families and to provide boys with the understanding and skills to challenge the myth that men prefer women who have been cut.

During the project young men from London and Amsterdam between the age of 18 and 25 will be challenged to make a difference in their community to say NO to FGM!

Our participants were introduced into the work FORWARD does in the UK and in Africa. They had an opportunity to discuss the topic and work on their leadership, presentation and teamwork skills. They created conversation cards to enable them to begin conversations about FGM with their friends, families and communities when they return home.

Part of the activity week was also doing some site seeing in London, visiting the Arsenal Emirates Stadium and playing a few indoor soccer games with the Somali community in London. On the last activity day the participants were introduced to FORWARD’s motivational speaker – Suleiman Hasni. In this last session of the week, Suleiman explained FGM from community perspective to the participants and had an open discussion with him.

After a full week of activities in London we all are looking forward to the second part of the project in Amsterdam!